Murray returns from injury, but loses to Kyrgios in three sets

London — Andy Murray won the first set on his return from injury after almost a year away from competitive tennis before Australian Nick Kyrgios rallied to win 2-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5 in the first round at Queen’s Club on Tuesday.

Despite the defeat, Murray — who last played 342 days ago at Wimbledon 2017 — will take encouragement from his long-awaited return. Former top-ranked Murray still had a visible limp and sometimes looked to struggle with side-toside movement after hip surgery in January, but he had lost none of his competitive spirit.

Kyrgios, who also looked to be struggling with injury, beat Murray for the first time in six attempts after 2 hours, 39 minutes.

Earlier, Novak Djokovic’s first appearance at the Wimbledon warmup tournament in eight years was successful when he put away Australian qualifier John Millman 6-2, 6-1.

Djokovic, entered as a wild card, will play second-seeded Grigor Dimitrov in the second round.

Also, Milos Raonic, runner-up to Roger Federer last week in Stuttgart, won his opener when Indian qualifier Yuki Bhambri retired hurt while trailing 6-1, 3-1.

Djokovic’s comeback from right elbow surgery in January has been gathering pace after reaching the Rome semifinals and French Open quarterfinals. He leads Dimitrov 6-1 in career matchups. Dimitrov, the 2014 Queen’s champion, struggled past Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3.

Federer wins in Germany

Roger Federer opened his Gerry Weber Open title defense by seeing off Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia 6-3, 6-4 in Halle, Germany.

The world No. 1 broke the No. 72nd-ranked Bedene at the first attempt and again for 5-4 in the second set to wrap up the win.

Fresh from winning his 18th grass-court title in Stuttgart on Sunday, Federer dropped just four points on his serve and forced seven break opportunities, taking two.

Federer made his comeback in Stuttgart after skipping the entire clay-court season for the second year in a row, and again he looked sharp as he extended his grass-court winning streak to 17 matches including his titles at Halle and Wimbledon last year.

The Swiss great is just five match wins away from matching Jimmy Connors’ all-time record of 174 victories on grass. Federer’s winning percentage is better, with 169 wins and 24 loses compared to Connors’ record of 174-34.

Federer is bidding for a record-extending 10th title in Halle, which would be his fourth of the season and 99th overall.

Two-time finalist Alexander Zverev was upset by Borna Coric, 6-1, 6-4. The second-seeded German wore a bandage after tearing a muscle in his left thigh during his quarterfinal run at Roland Garros, and he said the injury was holding him back.

“At first I was afraid that I couldn’t play at all in Halle or Wimbledon,” Zverev said.

Also, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece upset fifth-seeded Lucas Pouille 6-2, 7-6 (3), and former title winner Philipp Kohlschreiber progressed against Marton Fucsovics.

Svitolina outlasts Vekic

Elena Svitolina, who came within two wins of becoming world No. 1 in January, maintained her ambitious momentum to reach the top by surviving a tricky start to her Wimbledon build-up in Birmingham, England.

The second-seeded Svitolina stumbled within sight of a two-set victory, and briefly faltered again in the last set before beating Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.

Svitolina showed glimpses of the tenacious movement and consistently ferocious drives which have earned her the best win-loss record on the WTA tour since the beginning of last year, but also revealed glimpses of insecurity on the lush, low-bouncing surface.

Despite carving a lead of a set and 3-1, her gradually increasing attempts to win points in the forecourt were of variable quality, while Vekic, a former runner-up here, began to contain and counterattack more effectively.

Svitolina nearly let slip another lead of 3-1, in the last set, needing to save two break points on her next service game — one with a fine serve, and the other with a net attack finished off at the third attempt.

“I was just trying to play well and to dominate, but she played a couple of great points to break back — which is always nice to have,” said Svitolina, apparently meaning she was pleased to gain extra practice on such a technique-testing surface.

“It was difficult for me because she hit the ball very flat and the first match on grass is always a challenge.”